In brief
On Friday, Sergey Lavrov said he had a brief but constructive conversation with Marco Rubio at the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Atlanta. Lavrov welcomed Washington's willingness to maintain dialogue and defended a controversial diesel fuel deal while criticizing U.S. aid to Ukraine. Rubio urged G20 members to focus on economic cooperation ahead of the upcoming Leaders' Summit.
On Friday, 31 October 2026, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced he had a brief but constructive conversation with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia.
Lavrov said in a news conference that his conversation with Rubio was "not bad, though brief".
Not bad, though brief.
He welcomed Washington’s willingness to maintain dialogue at various levels and noted that Russia and the United States should pursue mutually beneficial projects where interests coincide, and that disagreements should be avoided from escalating into confrontation. Lavrov stressed cooperation in multilateral forums including the United Nations, the G20 itself, and the Asia‑Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) group.
Lavrov defended a diesel fuel deal between Russia and the United States, noting that Moscow had no restrictions on selling its energy resources. He acknowledged that the deal faced criticism in U.S. Congress and cautioned that it did not represent a breakthrough, while reminding that U.S. sanctions against Russia remained in place.
He further criticized continued U.S. military assistance to Ukraine and intelligence sharing with Kyiv, saying, "Therefore, we do not see any real progress in practice." Lavrov also praised the U.S. for allowing G20 discussions to be handled openly and for depoliticizing the agenda, though he noted it was unclear how much would appear in final documents.
In a separate welcome reception for foreign ministers, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged G20 members to strengthen economic cooperation and to focus on practical solutions. He highlighted trade, fiscal and monetary policy, emerging technologies, and energy, and praised Poland’s participation in the G20 process. Rubio emphasized that while interests may not always align, members should work together where they do.
Confirmed by Lavrov’s statement are his remarks about dialogue, the diesel fuel deal, and criticism of U.S. aid to Ukraine. Unconfirmed aspects include whether the conversation will result in concrete policy actions or whether the proposed APEC collaboration will materialize.
